If Only You Knew
by IPromiseYou
Summary: Sequel To ThoseThreeWords.16 Years ago...When I was 5...That was the only time I had enough courage to tell her...And now...Those are the three words I wanted to tell her so badly...I love you...Sakura Gaa/Ita/Saku/Sasu/Sai, Naru/Hina, Shika/Ino Rated K/T
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I Do Not Own Naruto. Well, not yet... Lol xD

_Sakura's thoughts or emphasis- Italic_

_**Sasuke's thoughts- bold italic**_

_Change of scene or flashback- underlined italic_

_**Someone else's thoughts and or other information- bold underlined italic**_

__

_I knew I would never see him again... Or so I thought_

_**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_**Things you need to know:**_

_**Sakura Haruno. Age 21, pink-haired, large forehead... Is a singer, only minor. Is currently single, though with fanboys in pursuit. Has a best friend named Gaara. Has no siblings.**_

_**Sasuke Uchiha. Age 22, raven-haired, heartless... Doesn't have a job. Is currently single, though fangirls are still in pursuit. Has a best friend name Naruto. Is currently saving himself for a pink-haired girl he met when he was five. Has one brother, Itachi.Currently lives in Konoha.**_

_**Naruto Uzumaki. Age 22, blonde, loud... Doesn't have a job. Is currently dating Hinata Hyuga. Has a best friend named Sasuke. Has no siblings, thinks of a pink-haired girl as a little sister.Currently lives in Konoha.**_

_**Hinata Hyuga. Age 21, dark purple-haired, shy... Currently works at a small cafe. Is currently dating Naruto Uzumaki. Has no best friend, said to have only one friend understand her when she was five-- a pink haired girl. Has no siblings, but a close cousin. Currently lives in Konoha.**_

_**Ten Ten. Age 22, brown-haired, bold... Currently works at a small cafe. Is currently dating Neji Hyuga. Has a best friend named Ino. Has no siblings. Currently lives in Konoha.**_

_**Neji Hyuga. Age 22, brown-haired, prideful... Doesn't have a job. Is currently dating Ten Ten. Has a best friend named Shikamaru. Hs no siblings, but has a close cousin.Currently lives in Konoha.**_

_**Shikamaru Nara. Age 22, black-haired, lazy... Doesn't have a job. Is currently dating Ino Yamanaka. Has a best friend named Neji Hyuga. Has no siblings, thinks it's too troublesome. Currently lives in Konoha.**_

_**Ino Yamanaka. Age 22, blonde-haired, loud... Currently works at a small cafe. Is currently dating Shikamaru Nara. Has a best friend named Tenten. Said to have a best friend at the age of five, a pink-haired girl. Has no siblings. Currently lives in Konoha.**_

_**Gaara. Age 22, red-haired, quiet... Doesn't have a job. Is currently single, though has been keeping an eye on his pink-haired best friend, Sakura Haruno. Is said to be emotionless. Has two siblings, Temari and Konkuro. **_

_**Our story begins...**_

"Sakura-chan calm down! Or else you'll break the seat!" Yelled Sayuri from the front of the moving van. I couldn't help it. I was finally going back to Konoha! After 16 years! I finally get to meet my old friends.

"Won't this be fun, Gaara-kun?" I asked the red-headed male beside me. He merely grunted. Sayuri and Taiki (my parents) had said I can bring Gaara along, just make sure he doesn't cause any 'trouble'. I sighed, not even my emotionless friend could bring me down.

"Okay, we're here. Before you go anywhere Sakura... Sakura? Tsk, where has that girl run off to?" Taiki said as he found out his 21 year old daughter had already run off with her friend. He sighed. "Oh well, let's go visit the Uchihas!" Taiki said as his wife grabbed his arm and pulled him along.

"Hmmm... Gaara-kun where do you think they could be?" I asked. He shrugged. I had only told him about them, so he wouldn't know exactly who they were. I sighed. "Oh well. Oh! Look! A cafe! Let's go inside before we have to catch up with Okaa-san and Otou-san!" I grabbed his arm and pulled him along.

He slightly twitched at the strengh of his (I almost want to underline the word: _his_) little pink-haired friend. We opened the door to the cafe, The Yamanaka. I tilted my head at the sign. _The name... The name seems so familiar..._ I shrugged it off and walked inside.

It was a descent cafe. It was small, but it did look quite nice. Me and Gaara sat down at a table near a bunch of other people our age. I could hear parts of their conversation. "Tsk, Dobe!" said one of them. "Teme!" But my friend Gaara snapped me out of my eavedropping.

"What are you doing?" He asked with his half amused, half disgusted look on his face. I smiled innocently. "Nothing! It's just that they seemed familiar..." He rolled his eyes. Our conversation was cut by a waittress coming.

"Hello, welcome to The Yamanaka. May I please take your order?" The waitress had long purple hair, and timid white eyes. _She also seems familiar..._ She didn't seem to be quite paying attention, it looks as if she was hiding behind her note pad.

"Ummm... We'll have the special." I said thinking fast. Gaara gave me a glare, I smiled at him. She jotted down our orders and said, "Thank You. Your orders will arrive in a minute." And with that she walked away.

"Hey Gaara-kun," The red-haired boy turned towards me, obviously bored. "Do you think we'll b able to find them? I mean it has been awhile, maybe they won't remember me..." He scoffed. "Do you see any other pink-haired, annoying, singer/medic nin around here?" I took that as a compliment, coming from him I mean.

I shook my head, but I couldn't help but think that maybe they had forgotten me, and maybe I should also. I spent 16 years, trying to forget them, but sadly it hasn't worked.

_With Taiki and Sayuri_

"Omigod!" Sayuri said as she gazed up at the mansion. "Are you sure we got the right address? I mean, it's twice the size since I last saw it!" But of course, it should've been obvious. I mean it has the words UCHIHA at the front. Not to mention all the crests.

Taiki sighed at his wife's childish antics and rang the doorbell. It rang from deep within the house, after a few moments of waiting, a women- who seemed to be around their age, opened the door. At first she looked... bored.

But then she took a closer look. "S-Sayuri-chan?" She said, wide-eyed. The said person nodded vigorously. "Sayuri-chan!" She gave her a big hug, while Taiki stood there almost looking disgusted.

But then smiled, when a man his age also entered the scene. He looked from the two hugging to Taiki, then he gave them his infamous smirk. "Taiki. Back I see?" He smirked also. They did a little high five, then, "Come in, come in!" Mikoto said as she shuffled the two inside.

After Mikoto had given them some tea, they all sat down in the living room. Mikoto squealed. "I can't believe you guys are back!" The two merely smiled. But then that smile soon disappeared when Fugaku said, "...Have you heard about Sai yet?"

They shook their heads. "Well, word has it. He's back in Konoha. It's quite a coincident he decided to come at the same time as you two..." Sai had moved about 5 years ago, reasons unknown.

Sayuri gasped and muttered something like," Not this again..." Mikoto stopped the chatter as she said, "Nonsense! We don't need to worry about that now. We have to tell Sasuke-chan that Sakura-chan is back!" As if on cue, Itachi came down.

He almost looked the same the last day they saw him- longish hair, black and red wardrobe... Itachi's eyebrow raised as he looked at the four. Then he smirked. "Sakura-chan is back?" You could almost hear the Oh-my-gosh-wait-till-Sasuke-hears-about-this-my-life-is-so-much-cooler-than-tv in his voice. But of course he hid it.

"But what about Sai. Shouldn't we---" But was cut off by his mother's intense glare. "No. We'll worry about that later. Besides I highly doubt that Sai can find Sakura and Sasuke in Konoha. There's been a great number of increase in the population." She said in a matter-of-factly voice.

Itachi rolled his eyes. "Has there also been an increase of pink-haired konouchis?" "Well no but---" She stopped herself from saying no more. She sighed. "Let's not worry about this yet. I need to get my camera." She said as she stood up and ran up the stairs.

...Sweat drop. Taiki turned to Fugaku. "Why does she need a camera?" Fugaku sighed. "She's been video-taping the 'SasuSaku' Mission since day one, she had mini cameras everywhere. I hadn't known myself." At that point she came back down with one pink ribbon and a navy blue belt.

Sayuri looked at her friend confusedly. "But those aren't---" But was stopped when she noticed a small shining object on both items. She did an 'Oh' expression and smiled. "I'll give the ribbon to Sakura-chan later, I want to catch up first," She said as she took the ribbon from Mikoto. She nodded.

_With Gaara and Sakura_

The two had finished up their drinks. They paid the waitress (still no eye contact) and stood up. As if things could have gotten worse, this is what happens---

Me and Gaara stood up, ready to go. If only we knew the person I was eavesdropping from before, had also stood up. We ended up bumping eachother, which spilt his drink all over the place.

"Hey! Watch it, that..." But stopped when he looked up at me. Then realization hit him.

"S-Sakura-chan?"

_**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_**Yay! I hope that was a great start to the beginning of another story of 'Those Three Words'. Sorry if the title sucks, I couldn't think of anything. And I won't update as regularly as I did with the other fic, I have school. Right now I have... Two book reports, one book review, one collage, math pages, and two title pages due. So you can tell I'm sort of busy. Don't forget to review! I won't update until I get at least 15. Ja ne!**_

_**-IPromise You**_


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I Do Not Own Naruto. Well, not yet... Lol xD

_Sakura's thoughts or emphasis- Italic_

_**Sasuke's thoughts- bold italic**_

_Change of scene or flashback- underlined italic_

_**Someone else's thoughts and or other information- bold underlined italic**_

__

Know what? Yeah, if your having a mini reunion with someone, it wouldn't be best to have it in a cafe, a small one at that. But that's how it happened--

"S-Sakura-chan?" A tall, handsome raven-haired boy said. At first I titlted my head at him, while Gaara had his usual half amused half digusted smile.

"Neh, Teme... Who's... SAKURA-CHAN YOUR BACK!" Naruto yelled from behind. And in seconds he had a death hug around me. Unannounced to everyone, Gaara was slightly twicthing.

"Dobe, you're gonna choke her!" Sasuke said half realistically, and half amused, not much though. Mostly realistically. Naruto let go, and as soon as he did that I launched myself at Sasuke-kun. Now he was in a death hug.

Shikamaru were smirking from where they sat. _**Sigh Like old times... Troublesome...**_

Sasuke patted Sakura's back awkwardly. "Erm, Sakura-chan you can let go now." He said with a poker face on. I took a step back and studied him intensely. "Neh, Sasuke-kun, when did you get so... " Naruto cut in. "Heartless? After you left, 16 years ago!"

"Oh! Gomen Sasuke-kun, but I'm back now!" I said with a warm smile, his expression left emotionless. I looked behind at the others for any other explanation. But then I noticed his expression wasn't emotionless. He was more like glaring... Glaring at...

Gaara. I turned around and remembered. "Oh! This is Gaara-kun. Gaara-kun-- Sasuke-kun, Naruto, Hinata-chan, Ino-chan, Tenten-chan, Neji-san, Shika-san." He merely grunted in reply, still holding a glaring contest with the young Uchiha.

I side-stepped away from the 'action'. "Naruto" I whispered once I was close enough. "What... What exactly happened to Sasuke-kun?" Naruto put on a nervous smile. "What happened was..."

_Flashback_

_(The very first day without Sakura, 7:00 a.m) Naruto looked at his friend worriedly. Sasuke had never been this quiet, and isolated. The Uchiha's had held a sleepover for Sasuke and his friends, maybe it would take his mind off of Sakura moving._

_It wasn't working. "Erm, pancakes Sasuke-chan?" Mikoto said nervoulsy once she heard the dead silence between the __**7**__ five year olds. Shikamaru was still sleeping, Neji was meditating and the girls had popcorn in their hands, waiting for Sasuke to say something to Naruto._

_Sasuke shook his head, his hair now out of his eyes-- only for a split second. And in that second, Naruto saw it. _

_Sasuke was crying. Not much, not like a waterfall. But enough to show he was never going to be the same. Because, as Naruto had put it, Sakura was his __**everything**__. Or at least the most precious thing in the young Uchiha's heart._

_And he never knew it yet. Mikoto gave Naruto a sympathetic smile, as if to say 'you can cover this right?' Naruto nodded. Mikoto smiled and returned to making breakfast. Naruto gestured for the others to come. The followed, as they left the little raven-haired boy on the floor. Thinking._

_Shikamaru and Neji knew what he was going to say. He was going to say that they had to fix it, maybe help him forget. Naruto shook his head. "We're not going to make him forget. We're going to make him remember." _

_The others exchanged puzzled looks. Naruto rephrased what he had said. "We're going to make him remember the good times. Some of which that weren't with Sakura. Maybe we should take him to the arcade or something. Maybe the carnival even. This year it's called 'Dancing Petals'" _

_Ino nodded vigorously. "Yeah! Last year was 'Snow Fall' My friend went, she said it was awesome!" Hinata and Tenten smiled. "Okay, we'll go tomorrow" Shikamaru concluded as Mikoto called them to breakfast._

_**(The Next day, At the carnival)**_

_"Come on Sasuke!" Ino yelled while dragging along a reluctant Uchiha. He kept his poker face on as the 6 dragged him along. It was the day of the carnival, he knew Sakura wanted to go to it. _

_Naruto's mind raced. __**Aahhh! This isn't working! Why does Teme have to care so much?!**_ _Naruto scolded a bit. But then he saw all the cherry blossom balloons. He looked back at the carnival map. _

_He mentally slapped his forehead. __**This isn't good**__ He looked back at the others, they had the same expression as him on their faces. All of the sudden Sasuke fled from Ino's and Tenten's grasp. He started to tear down every single cherry blossom balloon, anything symbolizing that particular flower._

_Everyone looked at him sympathetically. His mother was well known in Konoha, she had also told them of the pink-haired girl moving. And how it literally tore Sasuke a part. Sasuke took down the last balloon, walked past the others and headed home._

_The six looked at eachother. They sighed, they all thought the same thing. __**He's never going to be the same.**_

_End of Flashback_

I looked at the ground for awhile. It was oblivious to me that the two had stopped glaring at eachother to hear the story. I stood there, looking for a moment. _It's my fault... isn't it..._ Then I brought my chin up, with a somewhat forced smile.

_Then I'm going to fix it._ The six of them looked at eachother, then smiled. They knew only one person can bring Sasuke back to his normal self.

And that was Sakura.

_**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_**Yay done! I actually had free time, so I decided to make the new chappie. I hope everyone likes it. Please don't get mad! I didn't mean to make Sasuke all... emo. It just sort of went in with the story. He will get better, with the help of Sakura that is. Well, not if Gaara can help it. I know this was a little short. Sorry about that! I'll try to make the next chapter longer. Anyways, don't forget to review! I suck at cliffies! Ja ne!**_

_**-IPromiseYou**_


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I Do Not Own Naruto. Well, not yet... Lol xD

_Sakura's thoughts or emphasis- Italic_

_**Sasuke's thoughts- bold italic**_

_Change of scene or flashback- underlined italic_

_**Someone else's thoughts and or other information- bold underlined italic**_

_With Mikoto, Sayuri, Taiki, Itachi, and Fugaku_

The two women were laughing their heads off. The others looked at them in a confused manner. "What?" Taiki said with a raised eyebrow. His wife wiped a tear out of her eye. "Nothing. Nothing..." She said while laughing hysterically.

He glanced at Fugaku and Itachi. They shrugged. _**...Is it... That 'time' again?**_ They nodded, as if agreeing to the only logical explanation. But really, that wasn't it. Sometimes, when you haven't seen someone-- particularly an old friend, you just have to have a laughing fit.

But I think they went overboard when the fell down the chair they were sitting on. ...Sweat drop. Taiki sighed. _**I hope Sakura is having a better reunion than we are...**_

_With Sakura and the Group_

"Okay," Tenten sid while taking out a piece of paper. The 8 reunited ninjas, and Gaara had left the small Yamanaka cafe. Ino and Hinata sweat dropped. "...You keep a list of 'What to do when Sakura-chan gets back' in your pocket?"

Tenten nodded vigorously. Then she turned to Neji. "Hah! See! I knew this list would come in handy!" She said with a triumphant smile. Neji rolled his eyes at his girlfriend. We were walking all the way to Sasuke's house, where I was sure Sayuri and Taiki would be.

"I still can't believe it though," I said as I walked along side Gaara and Sasuke, who were still glaring at eachother like no end. "So let me get this straight. Neji is with Tenten, Ino is with Shikamaru," I said while Shikamaru muttered 'troublesome'. "Hinata is FINALLY with Naruto," Said fox-boy scratched his head.

"What do you mean finally?" Hinata blushed, it was obvious she hasn't told him her crush on him since kindergarten. I sighed, _Same old Naruto..._ "But what I don't get is. Who's Sasuke-kun with?" Everyone stopped walking and gazed at the young Uchiha heir.

The raven-haired boy shrugged. "No one." I tilted my head at him, a habit I couldn't stop. He rolled his eyes, and as if he were speaking to an idiot he said, "I have no one in favor, or any significant person."

It was silent for awhile, while I was trying to figure out why. But I let it slide, he'd have to tell me sooner or later. Right? Everyone continued the long walk to the Uchiha's.

Unannounced to everyone Gaara wasn't really paying attention. _**...Damn Uchiha. **_Sure. It was true the red-headed boy liked his friend. Maybe just a little. But really, only his big sister-- Temari really knew.

Being the only person he trusted at the time, other than Sakura. And of course he wasn't going to tell his loud-mouthed brother, Konkuro. _**(A/N Sorry! Can't really spell his name.)**_ Gaara inwardly sighed. All he knew, was that he better tell her.

Before the Uchiha does.

_Uchiha Mansion_

The two wives had settled down, and was now preparing dinner. They knew Sasuke would be there, with Sakura and the rest of them, so they prepared a big course. Well, Sayuri did. "Okay..." Sayuri said while scanning through the recipe of a cake, knowing Naruto would've asked for some.

But other than cake, he also liked ramen, or so told by Mikoto. Mikoto was once again in the living room, _'decorating'_. Maybe not as special as Sakura's birthday, but she did bring out the good china. Which, knowing Naruto would be a bad idea.

But she's willing to take the risk. She was humming a happy tune, when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it," Itachi said inwardly smirking. _**Hn... So little Sakura-chan is back. I wonder how much she's grown---**_ His eyes widened when he saw the so called 'small' Sakura at the door.

I smiled widely. "Itachi-kun!" Giving him a hug, not as big as Sasuke's but enough to get the meaning 'I'm-damn-happy-right-now-so-don't-spoil-the-moment-like-your-brother-did' through.

The other 8 were now filing inside, that is except Gaara and Sasuke, who was looking at the scene twitching. _**...Not another one**_ Gaara though inwardly sulking. Sasuke remained his usual stoic composure. _**Itachi... **_

Itachi had started to pat the pink-haired girl in the back rather awkwardly. _**She's so... So erm... grown than last time. WAIT. STOP THAT THINKING. Too young... too young...**_ He chanted to himself. But really, they were 21-22. While he was 26. So when they were 5, he had been 10. Maybe too young to play poker that one night, but hey he's a _prodigy._

But what really made him push Sakura aside from the hug was that his younger brother was now glaring death holes into him. I stepped back. "I'm back!" As if me being here wasn't obvious. Itachi hid his small blush quickly, now gesturing for the 3 of us to get inside.

With one last glare, Gaara and Sasuke had both walked inside the house. Naruto was already stuffing his face with ramen and cake. "Tis whes eben bedder zan sisteen earz ago!" He said, his mouth filled with the combination of cake and ramen, which wouldn't be too healthy...

...Sweat dropped. After everyone had finished eating, the parents decided to take refuge in the kitchen, while the adolescants stay in the living room. This time Itachi was with them. The boys had decided to sit on the couches, while the girls sat on the floor, with Itachi also on the floor.

Don't get me wrong, Itachi wanted to run back up the stairs and into his room. It's just that the pink-haired girl had a strong grip on him. "So Sakura," Ino said while brushing Sakura's hair. "How was it in Suna? I mean, was it better than Konoha or anything?"

I thought for a moment. Had it been better? Had it really been better than staying in Konoha? I mean sure, Gaara was there, my one and only best friend. But... was that all? Was that the only thing that made me want to come back, and the other half wanting to stay with the others.

I shrugged, pushing the thought away. "Well, it was pretty different. I had no friends in Suna, except Gaara-kun." I said not seeing Sasuke's fist clench again. One would think that the young Uchiha had anger issues.

But then the rest would say he's protective.

_**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_**Yay, done! O.O Itachi... Omigosh! Itachi likes Sakura-chan! O.O Wow. I never said that it would be a normal tri-couple (Sakura, Sasuke, Gaara) O wait, I said that it would be a qua-couple (Sakura, Sasuke, Gaara, Sai) Ohhh! Maybe it should be a quin-couple. (Sakura, Sasuke, Sai, Gaara, Itachi) Lol, Sakura is in a huge mess now! Anyways, don't forget to review. Tell me if I should toss Itachi into the little coupling thing. Or maybe he would be better off with someone else, if so I'd like you to tell me who. Sorry if this chapter was a little short, I sort of wasin a hurry. And yeah, I suck at cliffies, but you're still here aren't you?! Lol, Ja ne!**_

_**-IPromiseYou**_

_**O wait, that reminds me. I want at least 60 reviews, before I update again. Arigatou!**_


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I Do Not Own Naruto. Well, not yet... Lol xD

_Sakura's thoughts or emphasis- Italic_

_**Sasuke's thoughts- bold italic**_

_Change of scene or flashback- underlined italic_

_**Someone else's thoughts and or other information- bold underlined italic**_

__

_With Sai_

A 22 year old raven-haired boy was pacing around his father's mansion. He couldn't comprehend what his father had told him a moment ago. "No," Sai kept saying shaking his head. "No, she can't be here. She's supposed to be in Suna."

The father of the young raven-haired boy stood up from the couch he was sitting on. The Takai residents was almost as big as the Uchiha mansion. Almost. "Sai. I thought you wouldv'e been happy. This plan... It's finally coming together."

Sai looked at his father, Daichi now. "Unless... You have a reason why you don't want to go through with it." Sai thought for a moment. His father was right, he should be happy. He could finally get revenge on the young Uchiha.

But there was something in the way, something that's pulling him back. As if on cue, a rosy-red haired girl entered the room. Daichi shot his son a look saying, 'We'll finish this later'. And at that Daichi left the room, leaving the two 22 year olds to talk.

The rosy-red haired girl sat down, holding a drink, opposite from Sai. Sai breathed in, _**Karin...**_ "What was that about?" Karin said gesturing to his father. "Nothing, there's something you should know," Sai said.

Over the 16 years, Karin and Sai have become of what some people would say, best of friends. But the rest of them would say there's some chemistry going on between the two, and if only Karin gave up on Sasuke, she would be able to see it.

"What," Karin said her eyes boring into Sai's. He looked away first, hating intense moments. "Sakura's back." Karin spit out the soda she was just drinking. Her eyes went wide, "What?" Sai just sat there, not wanting to repeat himself.

Like always at the mention of a certain pink-haired girl, Karin immediately had that... look on her face. "Yes! What's the next part of the plan? I know now that Sakura's here, Sasuke-kun is going to warm up again," She said while pouting a bit.

Over the course of the years, everyone noticed that the young Uchiha had become cold and isolated. Way more than before. So of course there would be no progress in the Karin/ Sasuke department.

Sai rolled his eyes, he finally got down human emotions. "You don't remember the rest of the plan?" He asked with his half-amused, half disgusted face on-- somewhat challenging Gaara's own. Karin grinned sheepishly, while cussing a bit.

_**(A/N Tsk, some things never change)**_ He sighed. "Well remember once the first part of the plan is done, we have to..."

_Uchiha Mansion 10:00 p.m_

Sasuke was now twitching a bit. Sakura was _still_ holding his big brother by the arm. Itachi had closed his eyes a bit, somewhat meditating to notice his younger brother's glare. "Okay so what should we do tomorrow?" Ino asked while laying on the ground.

Tenten thought for a moment, "I don't know. What about you Hinata?" Hinata sat up. "Well," She said looking at the calender nearby. It was only about a month before the next carnival. This time it was... The Cherry Blossom. _**Irony...**_

She turned back to the group, who was now watching her, waiting for her answer. "The next carnival is in one month. We could go to that, finally that we have Sakura with us! But while then, we could go to the mall." Ino instantly perked up at the word 'mall'.

"Yea! Sakura, we could get you a new wardrobe! This time I'm thinking less pink. Maybe a little more red, we're gonna keep the cherry blossom petals. Maybe even add some Uchiha signs because you know---" She stopped when Tenten covered her mouth.

It's a good thing Sakura's hadn't heard the last part. "Yeah, sounds good." It didn't look like she was paying attention much. If you followed her gaze, it would land on a certain young Uchiha, who was now boring into her.

"Sasuke-kun. Cut it out." Sasuke immediately snapped out of his trans, with a little pout he turned away. But that pout wasn't left unnoticed. Well only from a certain fox-boy. He was smiling brightly now. _**It's already working...**_

Gaara wasn't really paying attention to the little conversation about what they were going to do at the mall. He looked over to Shikamaru (who was now sleeping), to Neji (who was now meditating after seeing the example Itachi led on), then to Naruto and Sasuke.

His gaze stopped at Sasuke, who had a slight blush on his cheek after Sakura talked to him. Gaara rolled his eyes. _**Damn Uchiha...**_ "Gaara-kun?" He snapped his attention back to those on the floor. "What," He said trying to keep his stoic expression.

It was pretty hard though, because whatever got to the Uchiha, had somewhat gotten to him. "I asked what you wanted to do tomorrow," I said tilting my head a bit. Gaara looked away. "I don't know." I shrugged.

I looked back at the others. "Don't worry, he's always like that. Once you get to know him he could be as annoying as Naruto," I said giving a ha-how-you-like-that look to Gaara, who gave a slight pout back.

Ino, Tenten, and Hinata laughed. "Well, I guess we could stop right there. The guys look like they've fallen asleep." Tenten was right, Itachi and Neji weren't meditating anymore. Itachi had fallen asleep, and was now leaning a bit on Sakura for support.

Naruto had knocked himself unconcious, eating too much cake and ramen. Shikamaru.. was well asleep long before. However Gaara and Sasuke hadn't fallen asleep yet. I yawned. "Sasuke-kun, Gaara-kun, aren't you guys sleepy?" They rolled their eyes. "Fine, then I'll sleep next to Itachi." At that moment the two went wide-eyed.

The girls laughed. "I'm just joking, go to sleep you two." And at that, all conversation was ended, as they all got ready for bed.

_Upstairs, 2:00 a.m_

The 4 adults were still talking though. "Ahh... Remember that time at Sakura's party?" Mikoto said. The four were reminicing about the past. "Yeah! And when Sasuke-san told Sakura..." Sayuri said trailing off.

The two men sweat dropped at their wives' actions. They exchanged glances.

_**...Some things never change...**_

_**-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_**Okay, done. Sorry I haven't updated! Lol. Well don't forget to review! Oh, and remember I can't really update often. I kind of got obsessed with playing Maplestory xP. I finally got nexon cash. Anyways, hope you liked this chapter. Is it me, or is Sai warming up to Karin? Hmm... Anyways, Ja ne!**_

_**-IPromiseYou**_


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I Do Not Own Naruto. Well, not yet... Lol xD

_Sakura's thoughts or emphasis- Italic_

_**Sasuke's thoughts- bold italic**_

_Change of scene or flashback- underlined italic_

_**Someone else's thoughts and or other information- bold underlined italic**_

_The Next day, at the Mall 11:00a.m_

Whispering. That's all we heard as the group headed to the mall. It was only a couple blocks away from the Uchiha's. So they decided to walk.

Things were being whispered. Something along the lines of 'I-Is that her?' or 'Omg, it is!' and 'Sasuke can finally get back to his old self'. Which of course Sasuke didn't pay attention to. The others, however had.

Neji, Itachi, and Shikamaru exchanged wry smirks. The girls, excluding Sakura, squealed a bit in delight. Gaara, well he had no idea what was going on. I just stood there, dumbfounded. Until, "We're here." I glanced up at Sasuke.

I shifted my gaze to the mall in front of us. It was nothing special, although it was bigger than Suna's. All of the sudden Ino pushed through the 10 of us, grabbed my hand, and raced to the nearest clothes outlet.

The remaining 8 just stood there, watching the two retreating figures. They shrugged. "Well, me and Hinata are gonna go help Ino with her 'fashion frenzy'. We'll all meet at the food court at 12." And with that the 2 girls were off.

"Hey, Teme! Let's go show Gaara around!" Naruto said, excitedly. Sasuke grunted, not really wanting to, but he let his blonde-haired friend drag him along. Gaara inwardly rolled his eyes as he followed the rest of the group.

Itachi sighed, _**It's better hanging around with Sasori...**_ The boys had headed into... Ichiraku's. (_**A/N Sorry can't spell that!)**_ The boys sat down. The quickly ordered their meals. Neji glanced at his watch. "How long do you think they'd be in there this time?"

Shikamaru leaned back in his chair, "Couple hours maybe." They replied with a small 'ah'. Naruto became uncomfortable with the silence. "So Gaara, how do you know Sakura-chan so well?" The boys immediately perked up at this, also annoyed by the silence.

Sasuke listened intently. Gaara looked up, he sighed. "Well it all started..."

_With Sakura and the Girls_

"Ino is this really necessary?" I asked as I looked at the outfit Ino picked out. It was a small party dress, not really elegant but not sending the wrong message either. The dress was up to her knees. It was red and had small cherry blossoms at the edge of the shoulders.

Most guys looked in the store to catch a glimpse of the pink-haired girl. "Yes!" Ino answered the girl. Tenten and Hinata were still picking out some other clothes as Ino helped Sakura with the fitting. I tugged at the hem of the dress. "Why do I need a new wardrobe again? What's wrong with what I usually wear?"

Ino scoffed. "Don't you want to look good for Sasuke. I mean he was--- nevermind." I raised an eyebrow. Ino laughed nervously. Just then, Tenten and Hinata came up to the two with a large amount of clothes in their hands.

Ino let out a small sigh of relief. "Hurry, go and try these on!" I sighed. _This is gonna take awhile..._

_With the boys_

They had just finished eating, and was now heading for the shop they saw the girls run into. No conversation was created among the 6 after the little story Gaara told them.

_Flashback_

_Little, 4 year old Sakura was on the swing set. She was clutching her lunch box tightly. She looked around nervously, as if waiting for something to happen. Sakura was never really the popular person, in fact she was always picked on._

_The thing, or people she dreaded came up to her. "Aw. Look at poor little Sakura-chan. Outside, with no one to eat lunch with," Sneered a girl with long brown hair. Sakura bit her lip. The 3 girls started to laugh at her. _

_The 'leader' suddenly stopped as she heard Sakura let out a small sob. "Aww. We didn't mean to hurt your feelings Sakura-chan," She said in a sickly fake voice. "In fact, we wanted to have lunch with you." Naive Sakura looked up, believing what the girl had just told her._

_"R-Really?" She started to laugh. "Of course not really." She took the lunch box the little pink-haired vulnerable girl was clutching so tightly and dumped out the contents of it on the little girl's head. Now Sakura was full out crying now. _

_The three continued to laugh. Just then they heard a voice. "Leave her alone." They turned around. Immediately, they saw a red-headed boy standing there holding a slightly torn teddy bear. At first the three rolled their eyes, but then they noticed __who__ the boy was._

_"Eh.. Heh... Sorry Gaara." And with that the three quickly ran away, dropping the lunch box they had held earlier. Sakura had calmed down a bit, but was now sobbing quietly. Gaara sighed, thinking it wouldn't be right to leave her crying like that, so he walked towards her._

_"Hey," He said as he sat down on the swing next to her. He looked at her, he always hated it when people cried, not like he has before, but still he found it annoying. So he said the only thing he thought was right at the moment, "Don't cry." _

_He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket and whiped away the remaining pieces of food dropped on her head. When she didn't stop crying he held out his tedy bear. Sakura looked at the bear through her tearful eyes. _

_"His name is Kanashii. Usually when I feel depressed I like to hold it. Here you can have it," Gaara said looking away a bit. Sakura smiled, wiped away her tears and held the teddy bear. "Arigatou. I'm Sakura," She said holding out her hand._

_Gaara stared at it for a moment, then shaked it. "Gaara."_

_Reality_

"Wow... So the three girls were like... Karin's group." Naruto said, starting up a conversation as they pushed pass people to get to the girls. Neji and Shikamaru nodded. "But what I don't get is," Itachi said. "Why the three quickly ran, after knowing it was you."

Gaara didn't bother looking at them, he stared straight ahead. "In Suna, my father is the Kazekage. Many people knew who I was. And to mess around with the Kazekage's son..." He trailed off his sentence.

Sasuke had narrowed his eyes as he listened to the whole story. _**So Sakura was always bullied... And I wasn't the first to help her... Gaara was. **_The six boys stopped once the had entered the shop.

Their eyes widened. Gaara, Itachi and Sasuke stood there in awe. "S-Sakura?"

_**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_**Teehee, sorry if this chapter was a little short. I hoped you liked the little flashback, so now you know why Sasuke thinks Gaara likes Sakura. I never really planned out the flashback, so please bear with me!Ohand the word kanashii means sad or something along the lines of that. Anyways, I won't update until I get at least 85 reviews! Arigatou, Ja ne!**_

_**-IPromiseYou**_


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I Do Not Own Naruto. Well, not yet... Lol xD

_Sakura's thoughts or emphasis- Italic_

_**Sasuke's thoughts- bold italic**_

_Change of scene or flashback- underlined italic_

_**Someone else's thoughts and or other information- bold underlined italic**_

__

_At The Mall 12:00p.m_

The guys decided it was time for the girls to have a break from shopping. Especially Sakura.

Sasuke shook his head. "And you were gonna wear that in _public_," He said gesturing to the outfit they had seen Sakura in. I rolled my eyes. Really it wasn't that bad, maybe the skirt could be a little longer and the tank top could...

I sighed. Ino just continued smiling at Sasuke and Gaara's reaction earlier. Tenten and Hinata were no different either. Itachi's eyes were still a bit shocked, but he did a good job on hiding it. While Neji and Shikamaru, well they just kept their usual smirk on.

Sasuke and Gaara. Yeah, they weren't too happy. I scoffed. "Of course I wasn't. Ino just made me try it on," I said giving the blond a hard glare. Gaara's eyes narrowed. Sasuke sighed. "Fine. Where to next?"

The girls smiled wickedly. Shikamaru, Itachi, Gaara, Neji, and Naruto sweat dropped. Neji glared. "No." Tenten looked crest-fallen. "Aw. Come on Neji-kun. We won't go overboard this time." I tilted my head, having no idea what was going on.

Hinata filled me in. "Last time we gave the boys a makeover." I laughed. It must've been pretty bad. "Yeah, it'll be fun. Besides, it can be a little activity where Sakura can..." Naruto trailed off his sentence when the Uchiha gave him a hard glare.

The youngest one I mean.

I rolled my eyes, then I turned my attention over to Sasuke. I gave him _**the**_ puppy dog pout. "Pweez, Sasuke-kun?" He looked away. Then he said, catching me off guard, "We aren't in kindergarten anymore, Sakura." Meaning the eyes and everything.It didn't sound like that to me in the first place. It's not like I didn't catch my name _without_ the suffix.

The _-chan_ was missing.

I forced a smiled out. "Oh... Heh. Yeah. Sorry Sasuke." The group grew quiet. Sasuke inwardly cringed. _**Great. Her first real day back... And I'm already making things worse. **_

_With Sai, Karin, and Daichi_

"First of all, we need to get Sasuke away from Sakura long enough so..." Daichi was now re-explaining the plan to the 2. Sai wasn't really paying attention, he didn't really like the plan anymore. But not knowing why... It just didn't seem like him.

Karin rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. But when are we actually gonna do it?" She said raising an eyebrow. Daichi looked at her. "You don't remember the poem." Karin's eyes narrowed. "What--" But was interrupted by Sai.

" In time, Sakura will face her doom. No one can save her from this room. Her nightmares shall come true at last, once the day of the cherry blossom past." Sai said adding, "You know, when I was 5 it sounded pretty cool, but now it sounds pretty retarted." Daichi rolled his eyes at his son.

Karin thought for a moment. "When's the day of the cherry blossom again?" Both men slapped their foreheads. "The day of the cherry blossom. The Cherry Blossom Festival," Sai said as if he were talking to an idiot. Which, he probably was.

Karin scoffed. "Yeah, I knew that." Sai ignored this and said, "But it's only in about... 3 more weeks. How exactly would we finish by then?" Daichi smirked. "Ye of little faith." Sai raised his eyebrow and said something which made Karin laugh so hard it made Daichi shake his head, mutter some swear words and walk out of the room.

_With the Parents_

"So," Sayuri said. "What you're saying is... That when Sakura left. He had some... issues?" Mikoto said, saying that 'issues' was putting it mildly. The two husbands had already left, saying that Fugaku wanted to show Taiki something.

Sayuri thought for a moment. "How old is your son already?" Mikoto replied, "22, why?" Sayuri smiled. "Just wondering. Don't you think... Since they're not in kindergarten anymore, and they should surely know the concept of relationships. Don't you think they'd get married one day?"

Mikoto squealed. "Yes! Not unless... You know, what with Sai and everything. Oh, and the whole competition thing with that red haired boy--" Sayuri looked up. "You mean Gaara?" When Mikoto shook her head, Sayuri laughed.

"There's nothing going on between them. They are best friends of course, why? Does Sasuke think there's something?" Mikoto nodded. Sayuri raised her eyebrow. "Is our little Uchiha here... Jealous?" Mikoto smiled.

"I believe so."

_At the mall 3:00 p.m_

The group had finished at the food court, and was now heading to the park. Shikamaru sighed. "Do we have to go there? We've already went to the mall. What a drag..." Ino rolled her eyes at her boyfriend.

"Of course we have to. I promised Mrs. Uchiha that we'd show Sakura everywhere. Things have really changed since she's last been here." Ino said as the group continued walking. Itachi had already ditched--- er I mean left the group. He said he promised Sasori he'd hang out with him.

So now there were 9. The were leading Sakura to Konoha park. Suprisingly, they don't remember what happend here.

Excluding Sakura. My eyes widened. It was _the_ park. With _the_ pool. With _the_ attempted murder memories. I shivered. Because it was at this park, when all my problems with Karin had begun. Sure, she'd push me at school, she'd cut in front of me.

But attempted murder. Yeah, that just screams 'Issues'.

So a brushed off the feeling. I didn't want anything bad to happen while I was with my old friends. "Okay, so Sakura. This is Konoha Park. Remember? Except this time, they planted more cherry blossom trees for the festival. The festivals are usually held here." Tenten said in a matter-o-factly tone.

I nodded. My gaze landed to the small lake again. I looked away. Finally Gaara spoke up, "Hey Sakura, do you still have Kanashii?" I looked up at him, and nodded vigorously. "Yeah! He's right here!" I dug something out from my purse.

I took it out. There in my arms, was the bear Gaara gave me. Something like a promise to me, friendship. Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the object. Gaara took it from my hands, and walked over to the swing set beside the lake.

Ino raised her eyebrow and leaned towards Tenten's ear. Ino whispered, "Since when was there a swing here?" Tenten shrugged. "They made it just a week ago, I'm not sure why though," Hinata said. The two otehr girls nodded.

I smiled once I figured out what Gaara was doing. He placed the bear on one of the swings, he had his half-amused, half-disgusted smiled on his face again. I laughed, then I turned to the others. "You guys wanna play, kindergarten style?"

The girls and Naruto nodded. While the other boys just rolled their eyes and smirked at their pink-haired friend's antics. I smiled widely. "Last one there has to hold all the bags!" Gesturing to the huge pile on the ground.

Neji, Shikamaru and Sasuke immediately sprang to action, and started running towards the play-set.

Gaara had a small smile on his face. He looked at his pink-haired friend. _**If only you knew...**_

_**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_**xD Yay, finished! Well, thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far. I hope you liked this chapter. Sorry it took so long to update, I still have some homework and all. But today's a snow day! YAY SNOW! xD. And another reason why I haven't updated, is because I'm kind of stressed right now. I have 2 tests this week. And also because of this person I know who's acting so crappy lately... Well I won't go into the details. Don't forget to review! I need 100 before I update. Arigatou, Ja ne!**_

_**-IPromiseYou**_


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: I Do Not Own Naruto. Well, not yet... Lol xD

_Sakura's thoughts or emphasis- Italic_

_**Sasuke's thoughts- bold italic**_

_Change of scene or flashback- underlined italic_

_**Someone else's thoughts and or other information- bold underlined italic**_

_With the Kindergarteners--- I mean Young adults?_

I laughed as Sasuke and Gaara took turns pushing me on the swing. Unannounced to Sakura though, the two weren't really taking turns. "Stop it, Uchiha" Sasuke whispered-yelled at the red-haired boy beside him.

The boy scoffed. "Make me." The girls, Shikamaru and Neji were watching with intense interest. "You think Sakura notices?" Tenten asked. Neji replied, "I dont know. We all know Sakura's oblivious to things around her. Especially when it has somehting to do with Sasuke--"

He was interrupted by Naruto high-pitched scream. The group turned towards the fox-boy. They sweat dropped.

Hinata stepped forward with a sigh. "Naruto-kun! Get off the slide!" Obviously, if Naruto had the chance, he would want to relive Kinderagrten. He pouted, "Hinata-chan. Why don't you come up here with me?" He said patting the plastic slide beside him.

Hinata slapped her head, but was caught off-gaurd when her boyfriend pulled her onto the slide. Tenten, Neji, Shikamaru and Ino laughed. Though they stopped when they heard their pink-haired friend say something.

I sighed. "Well, where to next Ino?" I said getting off the swing as Gaara and Sasuke collapsed from exhaustion. I looked at them, "Guys. Come on! We still needa go to Konoha Kindergarten!" Sasuke sweat dropped as he climbed onto his feet.

"Why do you want to go there?" I shrugged not really paying attention to my surroundings. "Erm... Sakura" Ino tried to interrupt. I waved my hand. "No it's okay Ino. Sasuke's just being a meanie."

Hinata spoke this time, "No wait, she's not talking about that---" I cut her off again. "I know, Gaara-kun's being one too." Sasuke slapped his forehead. "Sakura what they mean is--" He was interrupted by a splash.

Apparently, they were trying to tell me that I was getting too close to the lake. I sputtered around a bit. I heard Ino and Tenten yelling, "Sakura! Are you okay!" While I heard the guys saying," Sasuke, get her out of there!" Which made Sasuke and Gaara spring into action.

But it took them awhile though. I was a little far off from the edge of the lake.

Okay, maybe I was in the middle of it. I heard the two splash into the waters. I blinked my eyes. Scenes of the past kept running through my head.

_Flashback_

_Karin had a firm hold on me. "Let go of her," Sasuke said in a painfully menacing voice. The red-haired girl just laughed at the 5 tied up. Ami and Rin smirked. _

_"Now why would I do that, Sasuke-kun?" She asked in a sickly sweet voice. "How is she any better than me? She stole me away from you!" I heard Naruto make a come back. But I couldn't really make out the words. Karin had me in a full headlock underwater._

_I knew if I didn't get out of there in less than 1 minute, I would die. Tears formed in the little-girl's eyes. __"Why me... Why always me..." __Then all of the sudden, something inside me ignited. All my pent up anger bursted inside of me._

_And in a few moments, seconds that took the other to blink, I had Karin in a headlock of my own. My head was out of the water and I was panting heavily. Karin was sputtering out cusses as I tightened my grip. _

_In my head I thought, __I'll never show my weakness to her... Or to anyone else._

_Including you, Sasuke-kun_

_Reality_

I woke up sprawled on the ground. Sasuke's face inches away from mine. He staggered back as I sputtered out water. "Sakura-chan! Are you alright!? By the time Teme and Gaara got to you, your head was already underwater." Naruto explained frantically.

A small smiled appeared on my face. "No, I'm okay. Thank you Sasuke-kun, Gaara-kun." I gave them a hug. Unknown to her though, was that both boys blushed. Not alot, but enough to be seen by the rest of the group.

Ino spoke up, "Are you sure you're okay? I mean... You haven't been in there since... Well you know..." The scenes flashed again. I shook my head, as if trying to erase the memories. I forced a smile out.

"Really, I'm fine. You don't need to worry about m--" I stopped when Sasuke made me face him, turning my shoulder. His gaze was intense with concern. I laughed nervously. "Really, Sasuke---" He stopped me.

He leaned in closer to my ear, softly enough so the others won't here. "Remember. It's Sasuke-_kun_" My face immediately turned red. He stepped back with a half smile and half smirk sort of facial expression.

Gaara twitched. His gaze never left the Uchiha as he kept replaying that moment in his head. Shikamaru cleared his throat. "Erm, should we be going now?" He said. At that moment my cellphone rang. "Hold on."

I flipped open my phone. "Hello?" It was my mom. "Sakura-chan! Don't forget about your singing practice at 5:00! Say hi to Sasuke-san for me." And with that she hung up. Automatically I checked my watch.

My eyes widened. _4:50_ The group looked at me. "What's wrong?" Ino asked, raising an eyebrow. "S-Singing practice..." Tenten clapped her hands. "Yay! When? I can't wait to her you sing!" I passed her my cellphone.

She checked my schedule. Immediately she started yelling. "10 minutes! It takes at least half an hour to get to the Konoha Music Studio on foot!" I felt like fainting, I had never once gotten late. Especially when I had to train with one of the strictest music producers.

"Damnit..." I muttered. As if on cue a car pulled up alongside the entrance of the park. I raised an eyebrow, as did everyone else. But when the figure opened the door, with a grin on their face Sakura immediately smiled.

"Itachi-kun!" I ran up to him. He chuckled a bit. "I guess Sayuri-san and Taiki-san was right. You really do hate being late." He said with a slight mocking tone in his voice. Sasuke inwardly scoffed, he hated it when his big brother was the hero, especially if it was being a hero to _Sakura_.

He turned to the others who had ran up beside me now. "Well, come on. We only have a good... 5 minutes left." He said as his voice raised a bit at the time. He muttered something along the lines of 'I just know I'm gonna get a speeding ticket today...' as the group shuffled into Itachi's black convertible.

Naruto was sitting at the back. "Dattebyo! To the Music Studio!" Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Dobe."

But Sasuke had something else on his mind, something pink. He inwardly smirked. _**Let's see how good Sakura-chan can sing...**_

_**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_**Yay, finished! I almost forgot about the singing concept of this fanfic. Gomen! Thanks for all the reviews so far, I hope you liked the chapter. I won't update until I get at least 105 reviews -pouts- So don't forget to review! Oh, and I hope you like the new title, in my percpective I think it fits pretty well. **_

_**Anyways, Ja ne!**_

_**-IPromiseYou**_


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I Do Not Own Naruto. Well, not yet... Lol xD

_Sakura's thoughts or emphasis- Italic_

_**Sasuke's thoughts- bold italic**_

_Change of scene or flashback- underlined italic_

_**Someone else's thoughts and or other information- bold underlined italic**_

_Konoha Music Studio_

The group had their eyes wide opened, and their mouths agape. "Oooohhhhh Eeeeemmmmm GGGeeeeee" Ino said, in a rather high-pitched voice. They had just heard Sakura sing, and what Ino said pretty much summed up what they thought.

Even the Uchiha brothers and Gaara were slightly agape. But not as much as Naruto was. Right when the song finished, beautifully if I might add Naruto stood up and started clapping frantically.

"WOO! SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto cheered, wiping away an imaginary anime tear. "T-That, was so b-beautiful!" He sobbed. Sasuke rolled hs eyes, now regaining his stoic composure. I stuck my tongue out at Sasuke. "How you like that?!" Sasuke glared, we made a little bet when Itachi drove us to the studio.

He betted, that I would shatter all the windows in the studio. While I said, he would be eating those words later. Itachi smirked and put a hand on his younger brother's shoulder. "It's okay Otouto, at least Sakura can sing as good as she looks..."

The group turned and raised an eyebrow at his remark, Sasuke looked up at his brother while Gaara had a deadly aura around him. Luckily, Sakura didn't hear what he said, because her manager had shuffled her into the conference room to discuss her next step.

Itachi's eyes widened. _**I didn't just say that out loud...**_ He looked nervously at his younger brother. Sasuke's eyes were now fixated on a hard glare. Itachi laughed nervously. "Explain," Sasuke said through gritted teeth.

"Well you see--" But to Sasuke, and everyone else's dismay, the door to the conference room swung open. Sakura jumped up excitedly and launched herself into a death hug with Itachi, Sasuke and Gaara. Ino, Tenten and Hinata started laughing while Shikamaru and Neji smirked.

Sasuke grunted, as if saying 'What?' She pulled away. "My manager said I have a concert coming up. I'm going to be singing at the Cherry Blossom Festival!" The girls squealed in delight as the boys covered their ears from the high-pitched sound.

Naruto stopped for a moment. "Sakura-chan, who is your manager though?" I smiled sweetly and called, "Kakashi-sensei!" The group's jaws dropped. Kakashi had been their previous school teacher, but Sakura wouldn't had known that, not being in the same school with them.

Gaara and I tilted our heads, a habit I got him into. At that moment a silver-haired man stepped out of the office. He was about in his late thirties, he had a mask covering most of his face except for the eyes. He smiled.

"Well, Sakura. I didn't know your friends were some of my past pupils." I raised an eyebrow, still not really understanding. His smiled didn't fade. "Kakashi-sensei was one of our teacher's in collage." Ino cut in.

I smiled widely. "That's great! At least it won't be awkward when he hangs with us." Naruto's eyes widened. "Ahh! Kakashi-sensei is going to hang with us?!" He asked frustratedly. Kakashi replied, "Tsk, Naruto hasn't changed a bit."

I kept my smile on. "Why not? It'll be even more fun. Plus, we need to plan a bit about the festival. Aren't you guys going to help me." The last thing she said wasn't a question, more like a demand.

So knowing this Shikamaru sighed, hanging with a teacher was--- "Troublesome..." He muttered. Kakashi kept smiling. But stopped when he remembered something. "Right, Sakura. We only have 1 week before the festival. I suggest we start planning now. Actually, I don't think we'll get it done before then if we don't split up each work load."

I looked up at him with a confused expression. "One week? Hinata said 1 month." I turned to Hinata, who took out her organizer. She slapped her forehead. "Naruto-kun. Did you change my organizer again!?"

There was a visible vein popping out of her head in annoyance. Naruto scratched his head nervously, as well as trying to hide behind the Uchiha's so he wouldn't have to face his girlfriend's wrath.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. _**...Naruto... Hinata... Together?... Na.**_

I groaned. 'Work' was something I don't like hearing. Kakashi broke out of his thoughts and continued. "Now, the best way to do this is if the boys come with me to discuss what songs you should do and decorate the stage. The girls can help with choreography (sp?) and costume."

The girls squealed. At that, Ino already started to babble on about what clothes I should wear. While the boys merely groaned, excluding Naruto who was hyper as usual. "Come on! This'll be fun. Okay, me, Gaara, Sasuke, and Itachi will work on the song. While Neji, Shikamaru, and Kakashi-sensei will work on the stage."

Sasuke muttered something under his breath. "Since when does the Dobe lead?" Naruto didn't hear though. I smiled uneasily as Ino bantered on. Hinata and Tenten were discussing choreography.

"Okay, I'm thinking someting eye-catching. But not too much of a... Over-dramatic diva, you know? Maybe we can have you wear a..." Ino trailed off her sentence. I raised an eyebrow. I winced when she yelled, "SHIKA-KUN! WE'RE GOING TO GO SHOPPING AGAIN!"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. _**MY GOD! NOT THEM TOO! NOOOO...**_ Shikamaru fished through his jean pocket and handed Ino a hundred dollar bill. _**(A/N Lol, when was he packed?)**_ Ino squealed, grabbed Hinata's, Sakura's and Tenten's arm and ran out of the studio.

Kakashi sighed. "Well, me, Neji and Shikamaru will accompany the girls. We need to get some supplies also." Then with a '_poof'_ the three were gone. But before that Kakashi muttered something along the lines of-- "Tsk, I shouldn't have laid this off too long.."

_With the Girls_

Ino put a finger to her chin. "Hmm... Sakura turn." I tried turning in the super tight dress Ino made me try on. Tenten and Hinata were too busy at the side figuring out the choreography. Hinata looked up.

"Ino, It's too tight. And by the way, haven't you ever wondered why they laid the job on us? I mean, there must be some professionals or something--" I interrupted her. "The 'Professionals' don't work on short notice. We would've had to pay triple just to get them to work on the stage, let alone the choreography and song."

Tenten shrugged and looked back at Hinata who continued to write down the moves they came up with. Ino scolded. She had made me try on one of those skin- tight dresses, that only go up to the knee.

Ino put her hands up, in a sense of defeat. "Fine, how about... OMIGOSH! LOOK AT THAT DRESS!" I sighed. _This... is going to be... troublesome._

_With the Parents_

Sakura's parents had been happy to her that Sakura's friends were now helping her with the concert. Sayuri sat across from Mikoto who continued to talk about the 'plan'.

Fugaku and Taiki had gone to the golf course to had 'manly' bonding. "Okay so. My guess is that Sai and Daichi already know that Sakura's back in town. But what I don't get is, why they haven't struck yet? I mean, it's a pretty good time to."

Sayuri pondered on the question. She shrugged, but pointed to the wrinkled piece of paper on the table. It had Sai's 'Doom Poem' written on it. Mikoto leaned in closer, most particularly to the line _**Once the day of the cherry blossom past**_

Mikoto gasped. "Sayuri! Do you know what this means?!" Sayuri raised an eyebrow. "It means, that they're not just going to strike directly. They're waiting till Sasuke-chan warms up to her again, so they can crush his spirits!"

Sayuri looked at her friend directly in the eye. "Tsk, you must know Mikoto-chan. That we'd never let that happen. And besides, Sasuke has already. So has Itachi, and Gaara" Mikoto went wide-eyed.

_**--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_**Yay, done! Lol, sorry for the wait. I know it's already 110 reviews. Gomen! I sucked at my socials test ( I'm pretty sad about that. (2.5 out of 5, DONT LAUGH! D) Psh, Mesopotamia! Hmm... It may also be this 'problem' I have right now. DO NOT ASK ABOUT IT! Lol, seriously don't though. It's really... depressing. D Ahhh... I hate socials and science (. Anyways, I want 125reviews, before I update! So don't forget to review! Arigatou for all the support. **_

_**Ja ne!**_

_**-IPromiseYou**_


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I Do Not Own Naruto. Well, not yet... Lol xD

_Sakura's thoughts or emphasis- Italic_

_**Sasuke's thoughts- bold italic**_

_Change of scene or flashback- underlined italic_

_**Someone else's thoughts and or other information- bold underlined italic**_

__

_Konoha Music Studio 6 days until the Festival_

Naruto started pacing. "Ahh! This can't be that hard!" He started yelling. Sasuke rolled his eyes. So far they haven't even gotten a single word down on the paper. Itachi yawned. Gaara had closed his eyes.

All of the sudden it snapped open. He had a small smile on his face. The youngest Uchiha raised an eyebrow. "Well." Gaara started getting everyone's attention. "I guess we should figure out what the song should be about first."

Sasuke considered this. Naruto immediately agreed. "Yeah!" Then his smile turned mischevious. Sure, Naruto isn't observant. But he knows when someone likes Sakura. "How about... We make it a duet."

The other boys raised their eyebrows. Naruto re-thought. "NO WAIT! A QUA-ET!" Sasuke scoffed. "Dobe. We still don't have the lyrics let alone any music." Itachi looked up. "I can handle the music. Gaara can help too."

The red-haired boy nodded and followed the other Uchiha. Naruto just sat there smiling at Sasuke. For a moment they had a little smile-glare match. Until...

Sasuke slams his hand on the table, and Naruto blinks. "Ahh! TEME!" Sasuke smirked. "Dobe." Naruto pouted, but stop when he looked back at the paper. "Ahh! We need the professionals!" Sasuke raised his eyebrow.

"Professionals?"

_With Kakashi, Neji and Shikamaru_

"D-Don't you think we have enough?" Neji said struggling a bit with the amount of things he was holding. Kakashi shook his head. "Normally, a delivery truck would well... deliver them to the studio. But since there isn't enough time to book one, we have to do it ourselves."

Shikamaru grunted. "Tsk, what a drag." He said as the roll of string fell on the floor. Kakashi sighed. "Can't I trust you not to drop them?!" Neji scoffed. "Maybe you should carry some things." Kakashi looked at himself and then back at the two who were carrying so many things, that they nearly collapsed when they reached Kakashi's car.

"Na." And with that he went back to reading a certain orange book...

_With the Parents_

Mikoto looked at her friend in awe. Sayuri nodded, assuring what she just said was true. Mikoto said, "I-Itachi too?!" She said in a rather high-squeaked (sp?) voice. Sayuri nodded. Mikoto took in a deep breath and said...

"FUGAKU, TAIKI GET YOUR BUTTS OVER HERE!

_With the two 'Men'_

Fugaku winced when he heard his wife calling him. Taiki started to laugh. "You missed by a long shot!" Which was true, they were still playing golf, obviously Taiki was winning.

Fugaku narrowed his eyes at his friend. "Did you hear something?" He asked referring to the shout they heard a moment before. Taiki smirked and said--

"Nope."

_With Naruto, Sasuke and the 'Professional'_

Naruto had dragged Sasuke all the way to the mall Sakura and the girls were shopping at. Hinata looked up when she saw her blonde-haired boyfriend enter the store. She handed Tenten the paper with all the choreography on it, and walked over to her boyfriend and Sasuke.

"Nani?" She asked. Naruto made a sheepish grin. Sasuke scoffed. Naruto explained to HInata that they needed the 'Professional'. Hinata quickly understood. She yelled for Ino.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at that. Ino came strutting out of the dressing room, that is after giving Sakura a whole load of clothes to try on. "They need your help." HInata said and went back to Tenten.

Ino raised an eyebrow. Naruto started, "Okay, you see we have to write a song right? For Sakura. And the Teme is no help--" Which made Sasuke scoff. Naruto ignored it and continued," Can you help us?"

Ino though for a moment, but looked back at the dressing room. Naruto sensed what she was thinking, and quickly smiled. "How about, Ino can switch with Teme! I'm sure Teme wouldn't have too much trouble picking out hot---"

Sasuke glared, Naruto cleared his throat. "Erm... a nice outfit for Sakura." Ino nodded, once getting what Naruto was _really_ trying to say. "Okay! Sasuke, don't try anything emo on Sakura." Sasuke rolled his eyes. Just because when Tenten thought she needed a new wardrobe, and he suggested a few emo things...

Sasuke shook his head to clear his thoughts. By then the two blondes had already left, leaving him to deal with Sakura's outfit problem. Sakura stepped out. She had on a miniskirt which hardly served its purpose, and a red spaghetti top.

Sakura was looking at the ground as she came out. "Ino, I don't think this is--- Sasuke?" She asked with her eyebrow raised. Sasuke wasn't really paying attention, he was more likely looking at the 'outfit'.

Sakura followed his gaze. She scoffed, "Yeah, I know right? I told Ino before but she didn't listen!" Sakura said quickly remembering what happened the last time she tried on an outfit similiar to this one.

Sasuke shook his head. "Ino is going to help Naruto." Sakura narrowed her eyes. "So I'm stuck with you?" Sasuke smirked, knowing she was only kidding. But then his smirk fell when he remember what he had to do.

He sighed, looking at a few racks of clothes he picked some out. "Try these." Sakura replied, "But Sasuke why are you--" She stopped when Sasuke interrupted her. "It's Sasuke-_kun_. Now hurry up."

With one last pout Sakura headed back into the change room. Sasuke smirked.

_**This should be fun.**_

_With Gaara and Itachi_

Itachi had his guitar on his lap, while Gaara held his gaze at the ceiling. Itachi tapped his foot. Suddenly he stopped. "I got it!" Gaara looked at his as Itachi wrote down a few music notes. Then he took his guitar and played it out.

He shook his head. "It doesn't seem right... Hey Gaara hand me the keyboard." Itachi said reffering to the electric piano (_**A/N: You know the one that's light and portable. Sorry, Lol I forgot what it's actually called!)**_. Gaara handed it over.

This time Itachi played the tune at a slower pace. He nodded. "Yeah, that's it." Gaara nodded, also approving.

_With Ino and Naruto_

Ino smiled once they found out the first verse. "Okay so it's... --

**My head's up in the clouds.**

**Always thought you gonna be around..**

**Stayin' up too late**

**Watchin' you move away**

**(This can't be the end.)**

Ino pointed to the line in the brackets. "Sakura is going to sing that part, Sasuke will sing the rest of the verse. Okay?" Naruto nodded, writing down the lyrics. Naruto thought the lyrics should have something to do with the past. The first verse was reffering to when Sakura moved.

_With Tenten and Hinata_

"What I'm thinking is," Hinata said to Tenten. "Is that we should have Sasuke coming out first, then whenever Sakura is supposed to sing, she can come out second. And Sasuke can act like... You know how a guy acts when they see the girl they like appear in front of them?"

Tenten nodded. The group (Shikamaru, Neji, Naruto, Ino, HInata, and Tenten) had decided that this is the right moment (At the Cherry Blossom Festival) for Sasuke to tell Sakura his real feelings, in adult mode. Not like the one in kindergarten!

Hinata smiled, then it turned into a frown when she asked Tenten, "Do... Do you think Sai's going to be there?" Tenten glanced at her friend. She shrugged.

"We'll just have to wait and see. There's only one way to find out"

_**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_**Yay, done! Thanks for all the reviews so far! Don't forget, anonymous reviews are welcomed! Well I hope you liked this chapter, next one should be mainly about how Sai, Daichi and Karin are progressing. I want at least 140 reviews before I update! I know that's asking for alot, but really I just need more time to write the chapter! Lol. Arigatou once again, Ja ne!**_

_**-IPromiseYou**_


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I Do Not Own Naruto. Well, not yet... Lol xD

_Sakura's thoughts or emphasis- Italic_

_**Sasuke's thoughts- bold italic**_

_Change of scene or flashback- underlined italic_

_**Someone else's thoughts and or other information- bold underlined italic**_

__

_With Sai, Karin and Daichi- 5 days until the festival_

A raven-haired boy was sitting on the couch next to his father. All of the sudden, a red-rosy haired girl appeared from the kitchen. She sighed. "Damnit, don't we have any food here? All the things in the fridge taste like ----." (_**A/N: Didn't forget of the little problem Karin has, did you? O So since this is a K fic, I will put - instead. Also because I hate people who swear! o)**_

Sai rolled his eyes. "Just sit back down, we only have five days to go." Karin stopped ranting and looked at him innocently. "Before what?" Sai muttered something along the lines of 'Short term memeory lost' or 'Such a stupid little...'

Daichi opened his eyes, and spoke up. "You two are going to the mall" Karin squealed, while Sai gave his father the 'What the heck are you talking about' face. Daichi shrugged. "You haven't seen our little cherry blossom."

Karin stopped dancing and scold. "That -----..." Daichi rolled his eyes. "Such language..." He muttered. Sai stood up, about to retort but stopped when his father said, "But you cannot, start a fight with the Uchiha."

Karin smiled again. "Sasuke-kun..." She purred. Sai twitched at the rosy-haired girl in the 'I'm-dreaming-of-Sasuke-kun-so-don't-interrupt-me' phase of mind. Daichi had a visible wein popping out now. "Get out. Now."

And with that he pushed the two out of the doors.

_With The Group_

As predicted by Daichi, the group had headed to the mall the next day. The cashier remembered Sasuke and Sakura from yesterday. How would they know this? Well, it's pretty obvious when the cashier you walk pass, expecting a smile, but instead get a cold hard glare.

Conclusion? Never get Sasuke mad in a clothes outlit.

Really. You don't want to know what happened. Let's just say... Clothes hangers were everywhere, Sakura biting back a mocking sob, and a seriously injured customer was the result.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "What? I said I was sorry," He said to the cashier. The man scoffed. The group continued their walk.

Naruto was so hyper today, not your usual Naruto. It's like he broke into a sugar store late at night, stole all the sugar (then going to a ramen shop) and ate them all within 5 minutes. "Woah! What are we going to do today? Are we still gonna work on the song, Ino? Because if we are, that'll be so cool. Hey Kakashi, you know that test you gave us on the human body and sugar? Right? Remember? You gave me a C ! I DESERVE AN A! Speaking of sugar, anyone have any, not that I want it or anything. Wait that is if you do want me to have it, then I couldn't say no. Hey Sakura-chan---"

"WOULD YOU JUST CALM DOWN?!" Sakura yelled, catching a few glances from people passing by. The rest of the group sweat dropped. Kakashi put down his orange book a bit. "Erm.. Sakura. Are you okay?"

It was an honest question. Because ever since they left the house, she's been a little...

She nodded her head quickly. Ino raised an eyebrow. "Nothing really!" She forced out a smile, which any person, would believe wasn't forced.

But is Sasuke and Gaara normal? Nope.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. He's noticed too. Ever since she got off the computer (around 5 a.m that morning... Yeah, I know I was scared too. Just imagine what time she started to play!) she's been, I don't know. Jumpy, and ...temperamental?

Gaara spoke up, "What exactly were you doing on the computer this morning?" Sakura's eyes widened. "Nothing!" Itachi raised an eyebrow. Sasuke narrowed his eyes even more, as if physically telling Sakura to 'fess up.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Fine," She sighed. "I've been getting anonymous e-mails. Saying that if I didn't stop hanging around Sasuke and go to the festival this week I would..." I trailed off. It was obvious what this was leading to...

Sasuke's eyes softened. But then realization hit him, "Isn't it obvious? It must be Karin." Sakura looked at him. "What about Rin and Ami?" Sasuke shrugged. Shikamaru answered, "Rin and Ami died awhile back. It seems as though Karin had become..."

Sakura made an 'o' with her mouth. Of course this came to no surprise, seeing how Karin treated them in kindergarten, this was just bound to happen. Sakura looked down. _It's just that... They trusted her, they thought of her as a friend. But she just goes and..._

Sakura was broken out of her thoughts when she crashed into something...

More like some_one_. The person smirked. "Well, hello Sakura-_chan_." Sakrua rubbed her head, got up and looked at the person infront of her. Her eyes, much like everyone else's narrowed.

She scoffed, "Sai." Said emotionless boy smiled. Sasuke glared hard at his look alike. But was interrupted by a high-squeal... Sasuke sighed. _**Speak of the devil...**_ "Sasuke-kun! Did you miss me?" Karin said batting out her eye-lashes at him.

Sasuke moved away from her. Karin pouted. But stopped when she noticed a certain pink-haired girl... She stepped forward to her. "Sakura."

"Karin."

"Sakura."

"Naruto!"

The two girls looked at the fox-boy. He shrugged. "What? I felt left out." Shikamaru and Neji slapped their foreheads, "Dobe." Karin drove her attention back to Sakura. "Well, I see you've gotten uglier."

Sakura mockingly smiled. "I could say the same for you." Karin, as you may have guess has... anger issues. Like, no longer issues, more like a problem. Because, all of the sudden her eyes turned...

I don't know, showed hatred? Maybe not because of the comment, more so because of all the problems they had with eachother. But maybe, when she brought her hand up to punch Sakura, it probably wasn't smart to do it infront of _two_ Uchihas.

And a Sand Sibling. The three stepped infront of Sakura (unannounced to her, that the three were fighting for the spot that covered her more- the middle). Karin squinted her eyes at Gaara. "And who are you? The latest elmo doll?" Gaara showed no emotion. Sasuke and Itachi looked at him, as if waiting for a retort.

But when Karin screamed no retort was needed. She looked down at her feet, which was now being crushed by sand. Sai glared, moving now to protect the girl. Gaara yawned, releasing the red-haired girl.

"Next time. Think, before you act." Karin would've fell to the ground (now with her feet crushed, but still very much intact) if Sai hadn't caught her. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, and turning to Sai he asked, "Are you guys dating?"

Sai merely glared at the Uchiha, then stalked off. Naruto faced the group, and still high on sugar he said "They're definitely dating."

_With Daichi, Sai , and Karin 12:00 a,m (1 hour after the encounter)_

Daichi shook his head. Sai spoke up, "Techinically you said we couldn't beat up the Uchiha. You said nothing about Sakura." Daichi scolded at his son. _**...If I had said that 16 years ago... He would've killed me**_ He paused. _**An attempt of killing me**_

Sai glanced at the red-haired girl unconcious on the couch. Her feet weren't any issue, it just needed some ice. Sai rolled his eyes. _**Weak... Troublesome women...**_ Daichi looked at his son. "Do you not like Sakura?"

Sai gazed at his father with a raised eyebrow. "Of course I do." Daichi didn't move his gaze, but then he suddenly glanced at the girl on the couch. Sai followed his father's gaze. Once he saw where (or rather _who_) it landed on, he quickly looked away.

As he did that Daichi didn't move his. "Sai," He said still looking at the girl. "You know... If you had someone else in mind of marrying... You can tell me." Sai raised an eyebrow. He always thought his father was so bent on revenge.

"But," Daichi continued. "I won't like it. I made a deal with Sayuri." His voice got quieter. "But it could've been different if..." Sai continued his sentence. "Taiki hadn't proposed to her before..." Daichi nodded.

"But if only she knew..."

_With The Group 2:00 p.m 5 Days Until The Festival_

The group had settled down at Yamanaka Cafe, after a good 1 hour of re-touches on their festival projects. Sakura took a sip of her cappuccino. "Do you really think they're dating?" I asked Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

He nodded vigorously as he slurped down his hot chocolate. "Oww, hot hot! ...But sooo goood..." He said with stars in his eyes. Hinata raised an eyebrow at this. Neji slapped his forehead. "How much sugar have you had today?"

Naruto shrugged. "Iunno, 20 packets? Oh, wait alsmost forgot about the candy...the chocolate..." He trailed off. Sakura leaned over to Sasuke's ear. "I think Naruto has sugar problems." Sasuke nodded.

Unannounced to the two, Gaara and Itachi were eyeing them intently. Just then Naruto spoke up. "Wow Sakura, your life is so dramatic." I raised an eyebrow at this. Naruto took a sip of his hot chocolate.

"Well, you not only have 1 guy running after you. You've created a good... 3 more of them. But I just never thought that Sas--" He was cut off by a bonk on the head, by none other than yours truly-- Sasuke Uchiha.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Dobe." Naruto pouted. "All I was going to say was that even Gaa--" This time it was Gaara who hit him. Naruto started crying out anime tears. "Fine but what about Ita--" Yeah, that was Itachi.

Naruto started wailing as the girls, Neji and Shikamaru watched the scene in entertainment. Sasuke, Gaara, and Itachi cracked their knuckles.

Sasuke breathed in. "Dobe." Naruto rubbed his head. Hinata stood up (while getting a first-aid kit out of no where) she kneeled down beside her fox-styled boyfriend (by now Naruto was on the ground).

I just sat there smiling. Maybe it was too big of a smile because the two Uchihas and Sand Sibling looked at me confused. "Nothing. It's just funny how Naruto's right." Naruto perked up at this. "I'm right?" Sasuke scoffed (trying to hide his curiousity) he asked, "About what?"

I stirred the cappuccino. "Well," I said looking up at the three. "Technically Naruto is right, my life is dramatic. Though what I don't get is what he meant by 'the guy's running after me'. What do you guys think, Itachi-kun, Gaara-kun, Sasuke-kun?"

The three looked at eachother, the rest of the group sweat-dropped, and Naruto was smiling... evil-ey?

Naruto cleared his throat (after thanking Hinata-chan for helping him, which she blushed to). The three (Itachi, Gaara and Sasuke) gave him all types of signals (from glaring to the ulmighty Uchiha stare) to shut up right that second.

Naruto's smile broadened. "Well..."

_**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_**k done. Remember when I said that I just needed more time? Right? Yeah, I DIDN'T MEAN STOP REVIEWING! LOL! Ok, well I think I forgot to write in this chapter about Kakashi. Well he went to the bookstore to... You know the rest. He'll be in the next chapter. The parents... Lol, I almost forgot about them! Well actually they met Kakashi in the bookstore (-gasp- Are they planning something...?) and they talked... I'll also talk about what happens with them next too. Wow... Sorry if the whole Karin situation was sort of random. I didn't really plan it so... Anyways, don't forget to review! I'm not updating until I get 150 of them! P Anyways, Ja ne!**_

_**-IPromiseYou**_

_**-IPromiseYou**_


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I Do Not Own Naruto. Well, not yet... Lol xD

_Sakura's thoughts or emphasis- Italic_

_**Sasuke's thoughts- bold italic**_

_Change of scene or flashback- underlined italic_

_**Someone else's thoughts and or other information- bold underlined italic**_

_With Naruto and The Group-- 5 Days Until The Festival, 6:00p.m_

Naruto still had on his fox like grin, Gaara, Itachi, and Sasuke were ready to pounce on him. He took in a deep breath,

"Well, the way I see it is that Sas--" All of the sudden he was interrupted by a 'poof'. "Yo." Said a silver-haired man. Naruto looked at him and immediately started yelling. "Ahh! KAKASHI-SENSEI!!!!"

I just sat there tilting my head a bit. Sasuke, Gaara, and Itachi let out a sigh. "It's better if you don't know, Sakura," Kakashi said now understanding what was happening. Ino scoffed. "It's better if she does know! Because sooner or later she's gonna have to choose-- Nevermind." Sasuke narrowed his eyes at her.

Tenten just shook her head and laughed. While muttering something, 'No wonder I hang out with these people..' or 'Their stupidity amuses me...'

I sighed, they'll tell me sooner or later. I looked up at Sasuke who was now beating up Naruto. _Eventually..._ I clapped my hands together, forcing out a smile. "Well, I guess we should go back to Sasuke's place. I mean, Itachi's and Sasuke's place."

The group had agreed a week-sleepover (if that was even possible) at the Uchiha's. Sasuke was reluctant at first, but then he thought of how Sakura...

Sasuke grunted. The group started to walk out the door of the Yamanaka Cafe. Suddenly Sakura stopped, and turned around. "Kakashi-sensei? Aren't you coming?" The group looked at the silver-haired man.

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. He shook his head. "No, no. I have to go to the book store. The latest--" Sakura narrowed her eyes at him, in suspiscion. "Weren't you just there?..."

Kakashi laughed nervously, the group raised an eyebrow. Nothing like that would get past Sakura. Sure, she's oblivious (mainly to the feelings Gaara, Itachi, and Sasuke have for her). But she is observant.

Kakashi sighed, there was no way getting out of this one. (_**A/N: I wonder why he wants to get out of going... Hmm...)**_ "Fine." Sakura jumped up and down, Sasuke, Itachi, and Gaara shared uneasy looks.

Ino, Tenten, and Hinata just smiled, while the rest of the boys (Meaning-- Naruto, Shikamaru, and Ino) just shook their heads and thought nothing good would come of this. Not that they don't like their teacher or anything (except Naruto, sometimes he probably does. Especially because of that sugar incident...).

So thats how Kakashi ended up going to the Uchihas.

_With Daichi, Karin, and Sai_

Karin hadn't woken up yet. Daichi guessed an hour or two more she would. He also said that Gaara probably did something different with the sand, somehow made her unconscious for at least half a day.

Sai looked up at the ceiling, now feeling uneasy with the discussion he had with his father earlier. He sighed inwardly. _**No... What if he is right?... Karin... Sakura...**_ He weighed both options in his mind.

Continue with the plan, his father would be proud but he'll have an un-filled void in him. Choose Karin, and his father would be disappointed, he would be the family failure, and the Uchiha would mock him for the rest of his life.

He closed his eyes. Wasn't there something simpler to this? Sakura was kind, nice, thoughtful... Karin was rude, annoying, and uncontrollable...

He sighed.

_**This is going to be harder than expected...**_

_At the Uchiha's Dinner Time 7:30 p.m_

The group, parents, and Kakashi sat in a round table in the Uchiha dinner room. Everyone (and everything) was silent. All you could hear was the awkward chewing sounds and the light tapping of forks and knives.

Even Naruto was quiet. But they were guessing it was probably because of his 'sugar-rush-breakdown'. Sakura looked from Itachi, to Gaara, to Sasuke. Wondering why all three of them were staring at her so intently.

Kakashi was no different. He was staring at his fellow adults across the table. It seemed as if they were communicating with their eyes. But saying what, the group didn't know. Suddenly Sakura snapped.

"Why is it so quiet?" Everyone looked at her. They merely shrugged. She rolled her eyes. She decided to create some small talk. "So, Kakashi-sensei. Any word yet on how the design of the stage is going to look?"

Before he got to answer Shikamaru cut in. "We're making it a suprise." She said a light 'ah' then turned to Ino. Ino shrugged. "Naruto ate the paper." Sakura slapped her forehead. Sasuke smirked and said, "Dobe."

"Teme!"

"Dobe."

"TEME!"

Sayuri and Mikoto just smiled. Sakura cut in, eyes wide. "So we don't have a song yet?" Ino grinned sheepishly. "Not... exactly... But we did have the first verse. But Naruto ate it. We have a topic at least" Sakura sighed.

"Oh well. What's the topic of the song anyways?" Naruto grinned and was about to say something when Tenten cut in. "Erm, it's classified." Sakura rolled her eyes. But then stopped. "Tenten what about---"

Hinata interrupted. "Don't worry! We have it." She smiled, at least they had at least _something_ done. Sakura turned towards Sasuke. And for a second they had a little staring contest until they heard Naruto whisper to Itachi.

"I think they're having a moment." Naruto whispered in Itachi's right ear. Itachi tensed a bit, not much so to get noticed while Gaara just kept staring at the two. Luckily, Sakura looked away, breaking the link from onyx to jade.

Sasuke quickly looked away also. Hiding the little blush that was forming. Taiki and Fugaku raised an eyebrow. They really should discuss this with eachother. Alone, not with their wives. Because it was time for a little man talk...

Taiki cleared his throat. "If you'll excuse me..." He stood up and left the room. Fugaku followed. Mikoto raised an eyebrow at Sayuri who merely shrugged.

They finished dinner at around 8:30. Sayuri was humming quietly as she and Mikoto cleared the table and started to wash the dishes. The group walked over to the living room.

Tenten flopped down on the couch beside Neji, who was beside Shikamaru, who was beside Ino. Hinata sat down on the couch across from them with Naruto. Sakura, Itachi, Gaara, and Sasuke sat on the floor. And guess who was in the middle...

Tenten sighed. "I'm bored." Neji, Shikamaru, and Hinata nodded. Ino smiled. "Let's play truth or dare!" I rolled my eyes. "Over 16 years, you haven't found a better game?" I said with a smile so she knew I was only joking.

She stuck her tongue out. "Then what do you prefer, Forehead-girl? Spin the bottle?" Her smile grew. I quickly shook my head, which made everyone laugh to. Ino smiled, "Then truth or dare it is."

_With Kakashi, Taiki, and Fugaku_

The men had took refuge in Fugaku's and Mikoto's room. It seemed that they already knew Kakshi. The sat around a small table, discussing the problem they have. Kakashi shrugged. Taiki continued to talk, "Dinner was... Awkward."

The two other men nodded. Fugaku cut in. "But didn't you notice..." "... How Gaara, Itachi, and Sasuke had taken an interest in little Sakura?" Kakashi finished. He nodded. Kakashi shrugged. "I've noticed it too. Usually, Sasuke hardly ever takes a second look at a girl. But Sakura..."

"Is different." Taiki concluded. Fugaku nodded and said, "I'd like to think she was his first crush." Kakashi raised an eyebrow. He didn't know what he had gotten himself into when he asked about Sasuke's and Sakura's past.

He didn't know that he was going to have to protect and keep and eye on his young singer. Because, as Fugaku and Taiki told him the story...

He knew.

_**----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_**Sorry if that was sort of a suckish ending. This chapter was a bit short too...-pouts- But I still haven't gotten my 150 reviews... ( How many people actually read this fic? o.o I don't see the reviewers I had on Those Three Words anymore. / -sigh- So to prove to me that people still read this, I want... 170 reviews. Gomen, if it's too much. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter. Ja ne!**_

_**-IPromiseYou**_


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: I Do Not Own Naruto. Well, not yet... Lol xD

_Sakura's thoughts or emphasis- Italic_

_**Sasuke's thoughts- bold italic**_

_Change of scene or flashback- underlined italic_

_**Someone else's thoughts and or other information- bold underlined italic**_

__

_With Naruto and The Group--4 Days Until The Festival _

I rubbed my eyes. It seemed like it was only 1 a.m. I looked to my right, Sasuke and Gaara were still asleep. No one around me was awake. So I decided to make myself useful and clean up a bit. We had fallen asleep in the hallway.

No I'm not kidding. At first we were but then Naruto started snoring so... The hallways had 4 doors. One was Itachi's room, the other Sasuke's, another the bathroom, and lastly a guest room. Now that I think about it, we probably should've slept there.

I shrugged, no use thinking of the past. So I stepped carefully over Ino's arm, Tenten's foot and Naruto's snoring head. I smiled a bit, now looking back at the 9 sleeping bodies on the ground. Kakashi had decided to sleep in the other guest room upstairs across from Sayuri's and Taiki's room which was diagnally across from the Uchiha's.

I looked at the four doors. We mainly stayed put in Sasuke's room, so I decided to go in. As I had suspected it was, well covered with... Wait, hold on. Tamatoes?

I looked around everywhere. I guess he hid them when he knew we were coming, but since he didn't know... There was tamatoes near his dresser, a tamatoe plushie on his bed... Heh, he even has a tamatoe plushie panda!

I took the red panda. It was just so cute! But when I picked it up... Something fell out of it. It was a small navy blue and black book. I've never seen it before. I bent down and picked it up, I flipped it open.

On the very first page it said in handwriting...

_Property Of Uchiha Sasuke._

_Sasuke's Manly Journal_

I held in a giggle, manly journal? I looked at the open door, no one has woken up yet. I shrugged, a little peek wouldn't hurt. I turned to the latest entry...

_Dear Journal,_

_Me and my friends are helping Sakura-chan get ready for the festival-- she's going to be singing in it. We have everything planned... Except the Dobe and Ino won't tell me the song they made for her... They said it would be a duet. With who? Don't tell me it's with that Gaara guy. I just don't see what Sakura-chan sees in him..._

_Psh, no threat to a Uchiha of course. Oh, I'm sorry __**both**__ Uchiha's. ...Stupid Otouto... Anyways... Sayuri-san and Okaa-san are at it again. They just don't see that maybe... Hn. _

_Sakura... It's only been a week since she's been back. I think I've blown it though. I'm acting like a total jerk around her. Even the Dobe has seen a difference since 16 years ago... When we were 5..._

_That was the only time I had enough courage to say that I lov--_

There was a sudden voice at the door. "What are you doing?" Immediately a dropped the book and turned around. Sasuke was standing at the door, his eyes were a bit tired but other than that he seemed to be... Glaring?

I laughed nervously. "Nothing!" He walked closer and picked up the book. "How much did you read?" I shrugged. "Only half of the last entry." Sasuke inwardly gave out a sigh of relief. He grunted and led her out.

I sighed, I'll read it later...

_Uchiha Manor- .9:00a.m 3 Days Until the Festival_

Everyone was awake already. Taiki and Fugaku had to go to work (bringing along Kakashi). And Sayuri and Mikoto had to run some errands. So the 10 remaining was-- Itachi, Gaara, Ino, Shikamaru, Naruto, Hinata, Neji, Tenten, Sasuke, and of course our little pink-haired girl...

Tenten and Hinata offered to wash the dishes (Ino was drying them, Sakura putting them away). The boys took refuge in the living room, waiting for the girls to finish. Sasuke stood up. "I'll be right back..."

He walked to his room, and opened the door. He picked up his 'manly' journal he left open on his desk. He read the last few sentences...

_--That was the only time I had enough courage to say that I loved her..._

_I love Sakura._

He sighed and put it down (this time hiding it better than he had before). He went back down the stairs-- in the living room. It looked as if the girls we already done. He stared at Gaara who was holding a... Panda?

Sasuke sat down beside Sakura on the floor. She hugged his arm. "Look Sasuke-kun! It's Kanashii!" Sakura said pointing at the panda while laying her head on Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke looked at Gaara with the panda in his hands to Sakura laying her head on his shoulder.

Gaara glared holes into the younger Uchiha. Sasuke glanced up (not noticing the glare) he asked, "Where's Itachi?" Naruto had been talking animatedly with Ino aobut the song, Hinata and Tenten were talking about the choreography and how slow it would have to be to fit the song, and Neji and Shikamaru were exchanging wry looks while glancing from Gaara to Sasuke to... Sakura.

Sakura glanced up at him (jade eyes clashing with onyx) then she said, "He said something about meeting Sasori." Sasori, if I hadn't mentioned before is Itachi's best friend. Next comes Kisame and so on and so on...

Sasuke gave a light 'Ah' and ruffled Sakura's hair. She pouted, which made Sasuke laugh. "That's not funny!" Sasuke just kept laughing, but when he sensed the dark aura around Sakura he got up and started running away.

Sakura pouted, watching the retreatng figure. "Sasuke Uchiha!" And with that she ran after him. Naruto and the rest of the group could only laugh. Naruto noticed Gaara just sitting there. Naruto patted his back sympathetically, "There, there."

Gaara just rolled his eyes with his half disgusted and half amused look on his face. Naruto smiled and listened to the playfully screaming coming from Sakura. He stopped and thought. _**See... I knew it! Sakura is the only one that can bring back the old Sasuke...**_

Then he heard a crash, and a repetitive calling back of 'Omg! You are so in trouble! ...No you are! ...No you!'. He only smiled. _**And it's already working...**_

_With Kakashi, Taiki and Fugaku_

The three men were at a table at the nearest resturaunt from the Uchiha mansion. Okay, maybe they lied when they said they had to work. But in a sense... They were working.

Kakashi took a sip of his tea. He put the cup down. "...Yes. I will protect your daughter." Kakashi said with a smile to Taiki. The said man nodded. Fugaku sat there, then after a long silence he said, "You do understand the situation don't you?" He asked making sure Kakashi knew full well what he was getting himself into.

Kakashi took another sip of his tea. "Yes. I will protect Sakura with my life... That is..." Taiki raised an eyebrow, as if waiting for a reason he wasn't going to. Kakashi continued, "That is if Sasuke doesn't beat me to it."

Taiki only smiled. "Let's not forget about Gaara." Fugaku was now also smiling. "Neither Itachi." Kakashi smiled. Right now, it made sense Sakura had this many people protecting her. But when it came down to it...

She was going to have a hard time deciding who to choose between them.

_With The Mothers!_

...Irony. That's all I have to say.

Basically, the two mothers were also at the nearest restaurant to the Uchiha manor... However, they decided to go to the one across from where Kakashi, Taiki and Fugaku were. And, when the men were planning how to mend things between the Sasuke and Sakura department...

Sayuri and Mikoto were trying to 'develop' it. Sayuri let out a squeal. "Yea! Ino had told me what their duet is going to be about." Mikoto nodded. Apparently the duet... Was either with Sakura and Sasuke or Gaara or Itachi...

Ino and Naruto weren't finished with the lyrics yet. And Gaara and Itachi had only the music up to the pre-chorus, they haven't done the second verse yet. So far this is what Ino and Naruto came up with--

**(Verse 1)**

**My head's up in the clouds.** **Always thought you gonna be around..**

**Stayin' up too late** **Watchin' you move away**

**(This can't be the end.)**

**(Pre-Chorus)**

**Fallin' for you -- never thought it would end that way...**

**Hearin' what you say, can't believe... My heart gave way... Yeah...**

**(Chorus) ...**

However, the people Naruto and Ino showed it to (everyone except Itachi, Gaara and Sasuke) said it was awesome. The suggested about putting something about them in it. And maybe, while they're singing the song-- they could have flashbacks of their past going up on a screen behind them.

Shikamaru and Neji thought it was a good idea. But they don't know if they have enough money to rent a screen big enough for that, they said they'd try though. Mikoto and Sayuri immdeiately loved it!

Not only the song, but all the choreography and everything they came up with. They think this will be the best festival Konoha has had yet. That is...

"What is Sai comes?" Sayuri asked twidling with her fingers nervously (much like Hinata's mom). Mikoto shrugged. "There's only one way to find out. But don't worry! I think everything will go fine. ANBU will be watching the premises and everything. So I'm almost certain no enemy will happen to get in." Mikoto said reasuringly.

Once her friend calmed down she muttered in her head-- _**I'm ALMOST certain...**_

_**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**_

_**.../ You guys are mean. ( Well, I still didn't get my 170 reviews... So I guess that will still be my goal. But really, REVIEW PEOPLE, REVIEW! P Well I hope you enjoy this chapter. I had nothing else better to do since my bro has his frnd over so I can't watch t.v or play with my WII... ) Which is good, that means an update! DDD Don't forget to review! Cliffies suck. Ja ne!**_

_**-IPromiseYou**_

_**-IPromiseYou**_


End file.
